Antique Portable Monk’s Prayer/StudyTable, Tibetan (7020HOL) $595

Description

Monks traveling from village to village used colorful folding wooden study/prayer table called Chogtse like this that they could fold, carry and use to travel to villages throughout Tibet. They were used to display sutras, scrolls, books and other study materials to teach villagers Tibetan (aka Vajrayana, Esoteric, Tantric) Buddhism ethics, principles and history. Made for easy portability and storage dowel wood bamboo shaped legs fold inside the top and sides and the open rear allows legs underneath to be in padmasana (lotus position) with materials on top.This  prayer table is beautifully and simply painted with green and reddish florals on vines covering the bamboo shaped leg supports that form two layers of colorful squares. A symbolic Tibetan offerings bowl of fruit symbolizing the beauty and flowering of enlightenment and the opening of one’s heart is centered on front between horizontal decorative red registers. The bowl is one of the eight auspicious offerings on all Tibetan Buddhist altars; others are: water to drink/bathe, incense, flowers/fruit, music, perfume/fragrance and light. All are enlightenment symbols to pacify, purify, rejoice in virtue, drive out evil/darkness, see clearly, create merit for all other sentient beings and foster compassion and dedication. The table is in very good condition with definite wear, a crack across the top, chips and paint losses indicating its age and use, especially on its rear where bodies would frequently have rubbed against. This piece is part of the VA Collection of Buddhist-Art and is featured as a VA Instagram.